Portable humidifiers have existed for many years. These humidifiers typically humidify the air by introducing water vapor into an airstream. The humidifier includes a water tank, a wick and a blower for creating the airstream. Water is passed from the water storage tank through a water release valve into a shallow pan in which the bottom of the wick is positioned so as to distribute the water throughout the wick through capillary action.
With small portable humidifiers that water tank includes a water inlet/outlet that is sealed with a removable cap that includes the water release valve. As such, water is poured into the tank through the inlet and the subsequently sealed in an air tight manner with the removable cap. The tank is then inverted and positioned within the humidifier body to allow the water to escape the tank through action of the release valve. The water reaches a shallow depth in the pan through the action of the valve and the creation of a vacuum in the water storage tank. While this construction works adequately with small tanks it is impractical with large console or floor standing humidifiers.
Console or floor mounted humidifiers are typically designed with substantial water capacity in order to discharge sufficient quantities of humidified air over a predetermined time period. As a result, console or floor mounted humidifiers are generally not removable from a predetermined location in a particular room setting, although such humidifiers are mounted on casters for moving the entire humidifier to a water source for filling, if desired. Other than the cumbersome task of moving the entire humidifier, the typical methods used in refilling such humidifiers is to carry water in buckets or containers which are deposited in a humidifier water compartment or the use of refillable water containers which are detachably mounted to the humidifiers for refilling purposes.
With such large tanks it would be desirous to have a water inlet within the top of the tank while still having a water outlet within the bottom of the tank. To have such, the tank must be provided with an air tight cap so that the water within the tank is not allowed to freely flow from the tank into the shallow pan. If such were to occur that shallow pan will overfill and water will spill onto the underlying floor. Even with such air tight caps such spillages can occur, such as when the cap is not placed back on the tank before the tank is set back into the humidifier body or when such cap is not fully closed to prevent air from flowing into the tank.
It thus is seen that a need remains for a humidifier which will prevent the accidental spillage of water from the water tank. Accordingly, it is to the provision of such that the present invention is primarily directed.